


Tempting

by RosieRossette



Category: MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Avengers - Freeform, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Loki is a drama queen, Loki/reader - Freeform, Power Struggle, Reader works for Stark, Slow Burn, Teasing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:33:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22393339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosieRossette/pseuds/RosieRossette
Summary: Working as a Temp for Tony Stark you only expected your life to revolve around sending emails and important papers for Tony Stark. However, all that changed when Loki came to live with the Avengers. Two years later, they still don't trust Loki and need someone to constantly watch over him and keep him from causing Mischief. Given the magical ability to control Loki with your words, your journey begins as you try to carefully tread the line between keeping Loki safe and keep others from harm. But trying to control Loki has more problems than you're ready for, and soon you discover why he's the God of Mischief, and how much he's willing to sacrifice for his freedom.
Relationships: Loki/Reader
Comments: 24
Kudos: 117





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N - Hey guys! This is my first actually posted fic, and I'm super excited to have you guys read it! Let me know what you think in the comments. Enjoy ~

It had been a long exhausting day in the Avengers tower. Everyone was busy preparing for another mission, for another unknown species to attack, just something to go wrong in general. Fortunately enough, you were just a temp so you didn’t have to get all sweaty like everyone else was. You just spent your time writing up documents, emails and anything Stark needed you for. 

You were pretty much an errand girl for the Avengers, constantly leaving and entering the tower when they needed something. 

The only person however you were not required to follow was Loki. In fact, according to Stark, Loki had to follow  _ your _ orders. Which was odd, considering the thousand-year-plus age difference between you, but you didn’t complain. It was weird at first having to order Loki around, but then you actually met him and realized you were perfectly fine with it. 

The first time you met him he called you a ‘ _ simpering mortal fool’  _ and you immediately hated his guts. You had tried to be nice, in fact, you tried very hard. Then he insulted the way you spoke, and you’d had enough. 

Luckily for you, Odin, with much convincing from Thor, cast a spell on Loki, he would  _ have  _ to obey your every order. It so happened that your first order was for him to shut up and get over himself. Apparently, get over yourself in magic terms meant for him to do a very entertaining flip. You snorted, very loudly, and he growled. Although his mouth was closed and he couldn’t open it even if he had wanted to. 

You tried very hard to watch your words around him after that. There was no need to make the situation worse than it already was. Hard as that may be. 

You didn’t need him to hate you or the situation any more than he already did. But you couldn’t help the absolute relish you felt over the fact that a  _ simpering mortal _ had control over a Norse God, and there was nothing he could do about it. It was not at all the way you thought your time at the Avengers tower was going to go, but who were you to complain about it? 

Unfortunately for you, your lack of complaining granted you more opportunities to hang around the emotional God. In the form of you now being Loki’s babysitter while the Avengers all went out on any mission that came up. Apparently even after two years of living with him, they still had a difficult time believing he wouldn’t try to kill them once the opportunity was presented. So of course, the Avengers usually opted to leave him home, something about him being untrustworthy. 

_ Loki, untrustworthy? I don’t see it. _ You rolled your eyes.

He didn’t exactly make it easy on himself, did he? All the stunts he pulled on the daily to prank anyone and everyone didn’t exactly help his case. This morning he had decided that locking Banner in his room until he went Hulk and smashed the door down was a good use of his time. While you did see the humor in it (Stark’s face when he saw the destruction was absolutely priceless), you also understood where the Avengers were coming from. 

You immediately commanded Loki to clean up his mess, and he glared daggers at you the entire time he did so. It wasn’t your fault that he kept causing useless destruction. It also wasn’t your fault that because of said incident, the Avengers had once again elected to leave Loki in the tower, with you as a not-so-willing babysitter. 

The sound of Loki’s coughing reminded you of your babysitting duties. Something you were not looking forward to. Loki made it very clear that he hated it as well. You imagined Loki as a baby drinking a sippy cup and you giggled. You’d rather babysit baby Loki than  _ baby _ Loki. At least baby Loki would whine less. 

“Think you’re on babysitting duty  _ one _ more time…” Loki’s voice trailed off as he read his book. You laughed softly. Luckily it was a pretty easy babysitting job. Even if the child in question was a bit too sarcastic and mischevious for his own good. He turned his head back towards you with a look that clearly said, ‘ _ What did I just say?” _ You rolled your eyes. “Sorry,” and kept working on the computer. 

A few minutes later and the sound of Loki rising from his couch reminded you of your duties. “Where are you going?” You asked as you continued typing away. You hadn’t even looked up, the email was too important for you to stop working on. 

“Asgard.” His voice was full of boredom. 

You sighed in annoyance. “Where are you going?”

He finally answered, “I’m going to my hovel, my prison, my hell,” he sighed dramatically, brushing a hand over his face. “I’m going to my room,  _ mother. _ ” 

“I’m not your  _ mother, _ just your babysitter-” You picked up your computer and followed him to his room, “-which means I have the absolute pleasure of going where you go,  _ my child.”  _

“I am not a child,” he growled at you as you entered his room. “And you are not invited in!” He turned to shove you out of the room, but you ducked just in time. He growled angrily, light surrounding his hands. 

Your heart thumped in fear, then it rapidly turned to anger. You didn’t want to be here any more than he did. It wasn’t your fault he hadn’t learned to control himself and his emotions. You had things you’d rather be doing as well, and watching him was not on your list. Why he felt the need to blame you for the Avengers idea was beyond you. What were you supposed to do?  _ Not _ do what the Avengers asked of you? You not only needed this job, but you loved this job. You weren’t crazy enough to lose it. And it was the  _ Avengers _ . They could kick your ass if they really wanted to. 

“Loki.” No response. Why he felt like dragging this out was beyond you. 

“ _ Loki _ .” Still nothing. You were seething at this point. 

“Loki!” You growled at him loudly, causing him to look at you in surprise. 

“What?” He asked softly, his voice barely hiding his anger. He had forgotten about that commanding spell you had, and it didn’t make him any happier. 

You tossed the laptop onto the bed before putting your hands up in annoyance. “Loki, calm down and listen to me.” You walked backward until you were sitting on his bed, facing him. “I don’t want to do this as much as you don't want me to do it,” you growled lightly. “But unfortunately we’re both expected to follow the rules, and one of the rules is I can’t leave you alone!” 

“I am a King! I do not need a  _ babysitter _ !” He hissed. He plopped down next to you on the bed, both of you seething. 

It took a few minutes before the both of you calmed down enough to think straight. This situation was annoying, and it was unfair for the Avengers to do this to the both of you, but what could you do? 

At least you both felt the same way about this. That helped make things easier, or at least you hoped so. You doubted you’d both come to some kind of agreement, but it made doing this less difficult. “I’m sorry Loki,” Loki arched his eyebrows in surprise. “I’m kind of a control freak, which doesn’t make any of this easier, for either of us.” You sent a small smile his way. 

“And I am the God of Mischief-” he turned to you, smirking, “-so I think that makes us even.” 

Picking up your laptop, you began leaving the room. “Well, I’ll just be working in the kitchen if you get bored.” Loki nodded, and you set up your things back on the dining room table. 

Less than an hour later, Loki strolled into the room carrying one of his many books. He nodded towards you in acknowledgment, and then promptly sat down on the sofa in the connecting living room. 

You continued working on your assignments from Stark, the keys clacking as you tapped them quickly. Satisfied that Loki wasn’t in as bad of a mood, you finished typing out your long paper about the properties of some of the Chitauri weapons that had been found recently. Stark was worried about the chance of the slime-like powers getting to humans and negatively affecting them, but so far no reports of people going crazy had been made. But ever diligent, Stark and Banner set out to make different experiments on the slime, that way we were prepared if any difficulties did arise. 

You could feel your back beginning to ache from sitting too long, and got up to make you some tea. You smoothed out your skirt while looking for the teas, something you did without really thinking about it. Finally finding them, you selected a particular favorite herbal tea of yours. You found herbal teas to be your favorite and whipped out your favorite apple cinnamon. While you waited for your tea to steep, you glanced over at Loki. He hadn’t moved from his position since he sat down. 

“Loki?” You hesitantly called out as you walked over. He made a noise of acknowledgment but did no more. “Would you like me to make you some tea? I’m already making me some, so I figured while I was here-” 

“No, thank you.” He went back to his reading. If you hadn’t seen his mouth move, you would have assumed he hadn’t spoken at all. 

You shrugged but went to go grab your tea and set it down beside your computer at the table.  _ At least I can say that I tried _ you grumbled to yourself. 

\------

Night had fallen when you finally stood, finished with all your work. The Avengers still hadn’t returned, so you were still on Loki duty. You looked over at Loki and found him still reading, not an ounce of weariness lined his face. 

Your stomach grumbled a good reminder that you had neglected yourself all day. You had gotten a lot done today, considering the babysitting you got to do. You stretched, your back popping, and you sighed in contentment. 

_ Much better.  _ You had sat far longer than you meant to. 

You rummaged through the fridge, finding something you could possibly make for dinner. You thought about asking Loki if he was hungry, but he would probably lie only to come back to make food when you fell asleep. 

Your mind came across one recipe in particular that you could make, and upon seeing all the ingredients you needed, rounded everything up to make it. You weren’t sure it would be up to Loki’s taste, but you figured he wasn’t going to actually eat whatever you made anyway. So why struggle to make something to his standards, when you could eat something you actually enjoy? 

So you went to work. You cooked the pasta, you make the delicious sauce, and you cooked the chicken. The kitchen was starting to get a bit hot with all the different burners, so you took off the suit jacket you wore all day, and put your hair up into a loose pony. The light pink shirt you wore underneath the jacket had short sleeves, and you were thankful for the decision earlier in the day. 

Finally, when all the ingredients were cooked, you found pan to mix the pasta, sauce, and chicken in, then promptly covered the mixture with delicious white cheese and threw the entire thing in the oven to cook even more. While the oven worked its magic, you washed the pans and counters, leaving no evidence as to your work other than the smell that filled the room. 

When you had finished your cleaning you took the food out of the oven; the smell of the Chicken Alfredo made you smile happily.  _ Mama would be proud of my work _ . You were even happier at the thought. 

You fixed a plate for Loki and brought it over to him, setting it on the coffee table next to him. “I made some chicken alfredo if you’re hungry.” You gestured towards the plate. “I only gave you a little bit, I wasn’t sure how hungry you’d be.” You stood up and headed towards the kitchen to make yourself a plate.

You took a bite and moaned softly.  _ Damn, I’m good! _ You tried your hardest to not eat too fast, but you were absolutely starving and it was one of your favorites. When you finished what was on your plate and decided to get more, you looked to Loki and noticed his plate completely empty. 

“There’s more in the kitchen if you want some.” 

Loki looked up from his book lazily. “No, thank you. I try not to poison myself willingly.” He gestured towards his plate, “This thing you call a meal wasn’t even tempting enough to consider poisoning me.” And just like that, he was back in his book. 

_Ouch._ _At least he’s honest?_ You tried to look at the bright side, but that stung a little bit. Yes, you weren’t exactly the royal Asgardian chef he was used to, but you thought you did alright. You followed your mom’s recipe, and even though it didn’t exactly taste like hers, it was close. 

You did do a good job, but that didn’t make you feel better. 

You swallowed a lump in your throat. Cooking was the one thing you were proud of and hearing someone say so nonchalantly that they hated your cooking hurt. You felt tears prick and the corners of your eyes and shook your head. You were not about to cry about it. Loki was a jerk, and you were well aware of that fact. 

So you walked away, grabbed your empty plate and headed towards the food for more. But as you stared at the pan, you were no longer hungry. You put the food away, washed the remaining dishes, including Loki’s, and started towards a spare bedroom in the tower. Since the Avengers had yet to return, you were stuck babysitting Loki overnight. 

Before you walked out of the room to start your search, you stood in front of Loki and cleared your throat. When he finally decided you were worth looking at, you spoke. “I’m going to bed. I’ve had a long day, and I have an even longer day ahead of me.” 

“If you’re after a good night, you’ve come to the wrong place.” Loki started to read his book again. 

“I’m not-” You were trying very hard not to be offended. “-I’m not after a good night. At least not from someone like you.” Loki looked up at you, annoyed over the fact that you hadn’t left him alone yet. “You’re to go to your room immediately, stay there all night, and not perform any kind of bullshit until I come to get you in the morning.” You reached your limit. You were annoyed. “Understood?” 

“Understood.” Loki snapped?. He quickly stood up, gathered his things and made his way towards his room. Slamming his door behind him was his way of defying your magical orders. 

You let out a breath you hadn’t realized you had been holding and made your way to a spare room. When you had finally found one, you plopped down on the bed, just taking in the scenery. You realized you had no pajamas to wear and no clothes to change into tomorrow and cursed softly. You’d have to make a trip for new clothes. You debated going tonight, and just getting it over with, but you were exhausted. Not so much physically as you were mentally and emotionally. 

Watching Loki really put a lot out of you, and you really hadn’t even done that much. 

Deciding that you didn’t care, you opted to sleep in your bra and panties. Then when you had to go get clothes in the morning, at least you wouldn’t look completely ragged. You set your clothes on a chair, flattening them out in the hopes of avoiding wrinkles. Your hands rubbed over your clothes absentmindedly. Your thoughts lingered on the events on the day and having to deal with Loki and his many moods. 

You thought about using your commands on him and felt bad, but then remembered his penchant for trouble and the way he mocked your cooking and you lost your sympathy for him.  _ He didn’t  _ have _ to be a jerk about everything, and it wasn’t your fault if he chose to be so.  _ Nodding your head in agreement with yourself, you laid down on the bed. 

You tried your absolute hardest to sleep, but it evaded you. You were uncomfortable. New bed, just you and Loki, sleeping at the place you work. There were many reasons for your discomfort. 

_ It’s just for a couple more nights. _ You thought to yourself.  _ When the Avengers get back, I’ll get a nice paycheck from Tony, and I can go home and relax. _ You thought to yourself all the different things you’d do with that extra money but nothing came to you. You huffed at yourself in annoyance. Surely there was something you’d want? 

_ Clothes. I’ll buy more work clothes.  _ Perfect! You really only had two dress suits to choose from at the moment, it would be nice to have more options. 

_ Besides, I’m around so many attractive men, it’d be nice to look a little more put together. _ You smiled softly. It was true, you did work with quite a few sexy hunks, why not dress to impress, right? 

You were starting to doze off thinking of all the men you worked with. When you finally did fall asleep, it was to the image of Loki blissfully reading while you worked. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 2! I'm going to try and post chapters on a weekly basis, but obviously I'm working and getting ready to move so the schedule could be changed. Thank you guys so much for the support in the last chapter!

You jolted awake the next morning to the sound of loud clanging. You quickly threw on your pink top and skirt and raced to find out what all the noise was. The sounds were coming from the kitchen and when you finally arrived you were greeted to the sight of filthy, blood-covered Avengers making themselves breakfast. Or at least Sam making himself breakfast while everyone else looked ready to drop dead. Sam was searching through the cupboard to find yet another pan to add to his growing pile of pans on the stove. 

_ That explains the noise then. _

You didn’t know who to address first and just chose to talk and see who would actually respond. “You guys don’t look like hell  _ at all _ .” 

You snickered as Natasha stuck her tongue out at you, only to wince, rubbing her fingers on her temple. There were random quiet hellos, and even some waving, but no one made a move to greet you. You didn’t blame them in the slightest. 

“Hey (L/N).” Stark came over and plopped a hand on your shoulder. “Everything went well?” His voice was shallow, and chunks of his armor were missing. When he caught you assessing the damage he waved you off. “I’m fine kid.” 

You had a hard time believing that, but you just shrugged and said, “Everything was good yesterday. I sent out those emails you wanted, got those research papers out.” You counted each item off on your fingers. Even if he did look like he just brutally lost a fight he was your boss. You weren’t about to let him down just because he was out. Did you mention you really enjoyed this job?

“Good, good work.” Stark sent you an awkward thumbs up. “But I mean, how was,  _ you know _ ?” He made two horns on his head, lifting an eyebrow as he did. At your confused expression, he sighed “Reindeer games, (L/N). Reindeer games.”

You cringed inwardly. 

How much should you actually tell him? The words came out before you could stop them. “Everything went well. No complaints from me.”  _ Alright, I guess we’re going with that. _

Stark stared at you for a moment before shrugging and wandering off. You waved goodbye to all of the avengers as they finally went off to crash. When Sam had finally finished making himself food, he left with a full plate. You shook your head, chuckling at his antics. Of course, Sam would be the one to eat while the other Avengers just wanted to sleep. 

Quickly making yourself cereal, you thought over all the things you needed to get done today. New clothes were a top priority, makeup was a must, and your hair could use a wash. You didn’t want to think about how bad you must look right now. 

When you finished you cleaned up, wiping up the mess of pans and some red splatters on the tile you were afraid might have been blood from one of the Avengers. You tried not to think too hard about that. 

As you finish up a sudden and completely unnatural shiver ran down your spine. You shook your head and shoulders in an effort to ward off the feeling, but it stayed with you until you heard,  _ If you’re awake, come and let me out now, _ a bitter voice rasped into your head. 

You jumped, smacking yourself in the head for forgetting about the temperamental God you had locked up. You ran to his room to let him out. “I’m so sorry Loki, the Avengers came back this morning, and I completely spaced-” As soon as you opened the door you were interrupted by Loki. 

“I don’t need to hear your excuses!” He barked. “Remove your order so I may leave!” His fists were curled, his brow tensed. Apparently he wasn’t in the mood for talking. 

You knew when it wasn’t the time to start a fight, muttering quickly, “I release you from my spell.” You moved aside before Loki could shove you out of his way. As he walked, muttering about your stupidity, you released a heavy sigh.

It was always hard to tell with Loki if you were going to need to defend yourself. Even if you did need to defend yourself, there wasn’t much you could do to stop him. You did have the lucky ability to control him, but you were afraid of what would happen if you used it to defend yourself too often. 

What if he managed to find a way to release himself? 

You shivered slightly. You didn’t want to know. 

Remembering your desperate need for new clothes, you ran to the bedroom you borrowed, grabbed any extra items of yours laying around, and quickly ran out of the tower. You said goodbye to the front desk workers. The man at the door was cute, which added fuel to the fire of you berating yourself. 

When you left the tower you were reminded of the fact you were wearing the same clothes as yesterday, making you cringe. At least they didn't smell too bad. It was unfortunate that you had to walk around in yesterday’s clothes, but since you decided to save it until later, that was your own doing, and you silently beat yourself up for not doing it the night before. 

_ I’m just suffering the consequences of my choices _ . It was your own fault you had makeup smudged across your face. Something you immediately regretted not cleaning as you walked down the street, even more, aware of your face than you usually were. You pulled the jacket you wore tighter around you. It was mid-September, and already the air was beginning to freeze. You were not looking forward to leaving your warm apartment when it started snowing in a few months, but the things you did for a paycheck. 

Finally _ , _ you managed to make it back home. When you opened the door to the small studio apartment, you breathed a sigh of relief. 

You hadn’t realized how stressed you were, but staying at the Tower with one angry God caused you way more stress than you needed. You walked over to your room, kicked off your cute heels, shrugged out of your clothes, and jumped into the shower. The warm water cascading down your body.

As you turned to let the water soak your hair, you thought about Loki and how much you were sick of his up and down attitude. 

You weren’t exactly sure what time you went to bed last night, but he hadn’t been stuck in his room for more than nine hours. The anger with which he spoke to you made you snarl as you begin violently washing your hair. There was absolutely no reason for him to treat you the way he had. You were just doing your job; it wasn’t like you got off on controlling him. 

The thought of Loki having to obey any and  _ all _ commands you gave, brought steamy images to your mind before you shook your head. You were  _ not _ going down that road. 

As you got dressed you couldn’t help but wonder why he reacted the way he did. Your mind wandered over how he must’ve been raised. Did he grow up in a happy home? Was he raised with love, or was he raised with no real freedom to call his own? Your mind was crawling with all the different reasons for his reactions to anything you did. Then you remembered hearing how Loki was under mind control when he attacked New York. 

_ Maybe that’s why he hates being locked up _ , a voice whispered in your mind.  _ He lost the ability to make his own decisions before, imagine losing it again. _

You couldn’t imagine. Your parents had been a bit overbearing, but they still allowed you to make your own decisions. 

It wasn’t like you had that freedom stolen from you at any point in your life. 

You stared at your reflection in your large mirror and made the decision then and there.. Even if Loki was being a major ass, you wouldn’t just take away his ability to choose. 

You’d save that for when talking didn’t work. 

_ You’ll probably end up using it a lot in that case _ . You might as well try anyways. You applied a bit of makeup before moving to your clothes. You stared at the closet ahead of you. Your mind wasn’t completely there to actually help you get clothes, you were still worried about Loki. Finally shaking yourself out of it, you grabbed a couple of things before throwing them on quickly. 

You admired your outfit in the mirror. The cute cream peplum top and red skirt with the cream heels you wore made the fashionista side of you happy. You nodded at your reflection in the mirror, satisfied with the image before you. You quickly grabbed your red coat dress and headed out the door. 

Luckily for you, Stark had sent you a text saying that he didn’t have very much for you to work on today, so you could return to the tower whenever you wanted. You didn’t realize how much you missed your small cubical until that moment. 

_ Wow. Loki must really suck as a companion if I miss  _ that  _ tiny space _ . 

Outside was just as cold as it was when you walked home, so you hurried on your way back to the Tower. You managed to find a taxi waiting for you and immediately gave the directions. You watched the cars of the city fly by as you waited to arrive. Well, fly by as much as they could in the busy traffic of New York.

You loved this part of your morning routine. When you could just sit back and watch the city go by, pretending you were a tourist and this was your first time in this city. It filled your head with memories from when it really was your first time in New York. The tall buildings had nearly overwhelmed you. You hadn’t realized how big they actually were, and when you saw the Statue of Liberty, you nearly cried. 

You loved this city.

When you finally arrived you walked into the front lobby, unbuttoning your coat in preparation for the blast of heat that would hit you when you entered the toasty lobby. You waved towards the man at the door. He blushed slightly and waved back. Walking towards the elevators you pressed the button and waited for the elevator to appear. 

“Your desired floor?” Friday’s voice inquired as the doors opened.

“My office please, Friday.” You smiled as you stepped into the open doors. The bell dinged as the doors closed and took you towards your destination. 

“The Office Floor,” Friday’s voice rang through the air. “Miss (Y/N) has arrived Stark.” 

  
  


As the elevator doors opened, you heard, “Thank you, Friday.” Stark stood in front of you. “Long time no see, (L/N).”

“Didn’t you just get back from a mission?” You pointed out. “Shouldn’t you be resting? Or rebuilding your suit?” You raised a brow as Stark waved away your concern. 

“I’m a tough guy. And my suit is just fine thanks.” Stark corrected and that was your cue to drop the conversation. “I actually need to have a chat with you, if you’re not too busy?” 

You smiled. “I always have time to talk to my  _ boss. _ ” You followed Stark as he led you towards his office on this floor. You waved at your coworkers as you passed, avoiding eye contact with several angry S.H.I.E.L.D workers as they stomped by. Apparently S.H.I.E.L.D was in a mood as well. 

Good to know. 

When you finally entered Stark’s office, he closed the door behind you and walked to sit behind his desk. He motioned for you to take a seat. “I’m sorry about putting you in charge of watching Loki, I know he can be a real pain in the ass.” He actually did look sorry.

You hid your surprise. “He wasn’t too bad, just cranky.” 

Stark laughed, his eyes twinkling. “I’m sure. I don’t know when he’s not cranky.” He pulled out a pile of papers from his drawer. “Well, I brought you here to ask you something-” he played with a pen anxiously. “-I was hoping you’d be willing to move into the Tower.” At your stunned face, he quickly went on. “We still need someone to watch Loki, and since you did such a great job yesterday, I thought it might be easier for you if you lived here.” He handed you the pile of paperwork. “I’d have all your things moved here, I’ll cover any cost from leaving your apartment early, anything you need.” 

“You don’t have to do all that Stark-” 

Stark interrupted you, “I want to, (L/N). Watching Loki isn’t exactly an easy job, and paying for any apartment fees is just a small way of me repaying you for being so willing.” He handed you a pen. “Look over the papers, I have to go talk to another office worker, but if you could let me know your decision before the end of the day that would be great.” Stark stood. “And if you don’t want to do it, don’t sweat it, I’ll give you your old job back, and pay you twice the amount I promised for watching Loki. And don’t worry about that little command spell, we’ll get that figured out as well.” He rose, gave you a handshake and left the room, leaving you flabbergasted. 

Your head swam. What were you supposed to do with this? You’d absolutely love to live in the Tower. Even if you were getting paid a lot to work for Stark, you were still a temp, and your apartment wasn’t exactly cheap. Then there was actually being in charge of Loki. You just knew he’d have some complaints about this arraignment. 

You scanned through the papers in front of you. Your eyes bulging when you saw how much Stark was going to pay you for this. Not only that, but he was offering to hire you full time, watching Loki when the Avengers were out, and being Stark’s research secretary at other times. If it wasn’t for the Loki part, you’d have jumped all over this opportunity. You still weren’t sure if Loki would want you to continue to be the one to watch him. 

An idea formed in your head. Asking Loki would be the perfect place to start. Maybe if you gave him the option to actually choose, he wouldn’t be so mad at this situation. You hoped anyway.

You speed-walked back towards the elevator, asking Friday to take you to the Avenger’s floor. When the bell rang and the doors opened, you practically ran out, heading towards Loki’s room. You knocked on his closed door. No reply. “Loki if you’re in there, let me in. I need to talk to you.” 

No response. 

You racked your brain trying to figure out where else he would be. Then you remembered the Library and quickly headed in that direction. You made a mental note to check out the library when you didn’t have to deal with a potentially angry God. Hopefully, that trip would be a bit more enjoyable than you were afraid this trip was going to be. 

When you walked in you stared at Loki as he was reading. He was lounging in a golden chair, which softly reflected the light in the room. His feet were propped up on the hardwood table, his long legs stretched luxuriously in front of him. His black glossy boots crossed at the ankle. 

“Loki, can we talk?” 

Now that you were here, you were weary. You didn’t want to have another fight, but you also knew you couldn’t make this decision by yourself. You had to stick with your guns, even if your guns were tiny and non-existant compared to his defined ones. 

“What?” Loki fumed. He mumbled something about you always interrupting him when he was enjoying himself. 

“I can’t talk to you if you won’t look at me Loki.” You waited while he quickly shut his book. When he finally stared up at you, you began. “Stark offered me a job watching you full time. I’ll mostly be in charge when the Avengers leave, so most of the time you won’t even see me-” 

“And you felt the need to gloat about this  _ because _ ?” Loki stood, all anger and power. “Have you forgotten who I am, you _ worthless  _ mortal _?”  _ The room filled with his energy, and you felt yourself go stone cold. You were paralyzed. Whether through his magic or due to your fear you weren’t sure. “I could kill you where you stand, and there is nothing you could do about it.” He stepped closer. “I’ve lived far longer than you know,  _ girl _ .” His voice was a harsh whisper, “I’ve seen things you’ve only dreamed of.” He reached for your arms, his fingers curling around your biceps. “And for you to think you can control me!?” His humorless laugh filled your ears, “you’re sorely mistaken.”

Pain shot through your arms as he squeezed bringing back your ability to speak. 

“ _ Don’t touch me _ Loki.” When he let go, his anger at you using the spell on him again almost made you lose your nerve, but you kept going. 

“I came here to give you a choice as to whether I worked with you anymore.” You watched as confusion flickered across Loki’s face until his well-made mask once again covered his countenance. “I didn’t want to take that choice away from you.” Your voice nearly cracked. Whether from fear or anger you weren’t sure. 

“You overestimate my ability to care.” He sat down on the couch. “Either way some mortal is going to end up giving me orders. Why should I care which mortal? You’re all the same.” He eyed you up and down. “I’d prefer one that was at least pleasing to the eye, but I suppose beggars can’t be choosers.” He picked up his book, flipped to the page he was on and continued reading. 

“ _ Right _ .” You huffed out of the library. “Guess I’ll make the decision then.” You tried very hard not to be offended.  _ What a jackass.  _ Some God he was. He didn’t have to be so rude about everything. At least you had tried to give him an option. It wasn’t your fault he chose to take offense.

_ That went the exact opposite way I wanted it to go. _

You stopped and leaned against a wall, rubbing your cold hand on your forehead. The pounding in your head made thinking difficult, but eventually, you were able to come to a decision. 

Heading back towards Stark’s office, when you arrived you knocked, and he called for you to enter. “(L/N), you decided already?” Stark looked taken aback, then his face turned to a mixture of worry and hope. “Have a seat.” 

“If you would give me a pen, I’ll go ahead and sign these papers.” You gestured to the pile of papers you had left on his desk. “I’ll gladly accept the job.” 

You smiled as Stark practically jumped out of his seat. He handed you a pen, and you began signing. 

_ If I just go ahead and do this, then no other person has to deal with Loki. _ That was your mantra as you signed the papers.  _ I’m doing this so no one else has to. _ When you finished signing you were determined. Loki may not like it, but you knew it was for the best. 

_ Besides, _ your brain argued,  _ you get to have power over a pompous God with a bad attitude. What else could you want?  _


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki is made aware of the fact that you are now his permanent babysitter. Mischief ensues, and the Avengers are ready to kill both of you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait. I meant to post this last week, but I'm super bad at remembering to publish my stuff on here. I'm a lot better on Tumblr, but I'm working on it. If you want to check that out I'm Rosierossette. Thank you guys so much, and please enjoy the chapter!

Loki was less than excited about the news of you watching him permanently when Thor visited him that night. While Stark paid to have your things moved to the Tower, you were busy decorating your room, pretending not to hear the sound of Loki throwing a fit. Unfortunately for you, Stark thought it might be a good idea to have your room down the same corridor as Loki’s, which meant you could hear all the nasty words about you coming from his mouth. 

Thor was trying his hardest to shut Loki up, but Loki was incorrigible. Soon lightning filled the sky, the terrible roar of the thunder was the loudest you’d ever heard it. The tower shook with every strike, and you could hear the muffled voices of Thor and Loki arguing. You were busy trying to sort through the large pile of furniture ahead of you, a lovely gift from Tony as you were moving into the Tower with all the Avengers. Trying your hardest to pretend you couldn’t hear what they were arguing back, you studied the pile of laundry you also needed to deal with. 

_ Crash. _ The sound of glass shattering was heard against your wall, right where yours and Loki’s rooms connected. You cursed as you ran down the hallway. You were already sick of this permanent arrangement, and the Avengers hadn’t even left yet. 

“ _ Loki, shut up _ !” You screamed as you slammed the door to his room open, the door pounding against the wall behind it with a bang. Loki and Thor had both turned to you startled, Loki’s mouth involuntarily slammed shut.

You immediately paused at the sight of Loki’s room. It was beautiful, although you felt even that word didn’t describe his room perfectly. Loki’s room had a strange golden glow about it. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say you were no longer on earth, or at least it looked unlike any part of earth you had seen. It looked just like Thor had described Asgard. Massive windows overlooking an alluring scene of waterfalls and birds coasting through the air. The sky was a brilliant blue, the sun only adding to its beauty rather than taking away from it. Loki’s room was huge. 

Your room was nice and spacious, but it seemed like a broom closet compared to Loki’s. 

The walls and floor both had the same glow about them. And as you looked around, you noticed there was a huge bookshelf covered with books, most in a language you didn’t recognize. You turned in shock and amazement to admire more of the room when you finally noticed Loki and Thor. 

You shook your head, remembering why you came in.

“It is _ 10 o’clock _ at  _ night _ , Thor is causing a lightning storm outside, and I’m trying to get stuff done before I pass out for the night!” You tapped your foot impatiently. “So if you’re both done having a fit at each other like children,” You gestured for Thor to leave, and he stormed out. 

He turned to look at the both of you before adding, “Loki, Lady (L/N),” He nodded to each of you, sending an angry look to Loki especially, before disappearing down the long hall. 

When you could no longer hear the sound of Thor’s footsteps you turned to him. “I’m sorry about casting that spell,” You spoke hurriedly. “I didn’t actually mean to do it, I was angry and well, people usually say ‘shut up’ when they’re angry, right?” Loki’s eyes never softened, he didn’t even move. 

“I release you from my spell.” You mumbled, rolling your eyes.  _ This whole situation is ridiculous. _

The look in Loki’s eyes was dark, filled with anger and annoyance, and it was your only warning before he magically shoved you out of his room in a green haze, the door slamming behind you. The air was knocked out of you, so you stood there attempting to remember how to breathe for a moment. When you finally calmed down enough to walk, you went back to your room. 

You threw yourself down on the bed, landing on the piles of clothes you were procrastinating working on putting away. Your room was still a mess but your mind was elsewhere. The image of what you were sure was Asgard flashed across your mind. It was absolutely breathtaking. For the first time since meeting Loki and Thor, you were actually disappointed that you were only mortal. You’d love to see the real Asgard sometime. 

_ Keep dreaming sister. _

“Alright fine, so I’m not going to Asgard anytime soon. That doesn’t give me an excuse to live in filth.” You muttered loudly to yourself as you jumped up to finish cleaning your new room. You finally came to a decision about where to move your furniture, and then promptly and unapologetically took all your clothes on your bed and moved them to the designated ‘laundry chair’. 

“Perfection,” You admired your handiwork, pointedly ignoring the pile of laundry you probably wouldn’t touch for another two weeks. At least. 

\--------------

“Dinner is ready,” Friday’s voice filled the tower. It was six o’clock on a Thursday evening, and you felt your stomach rumble at the declaration. It had been too long since the small sandwich you had fixed yourself for lunch.

You’d been finishing some paperwork for Stark in his lab when you entered the kitchen and saw all the Avengers. They were….wearing normal clothes. You’d been working here for less than a year, and you had never seen them in anything other than their suits. Usually, when you saw them, they were either getting ready for a mission or working out for one. 

Your bewildered expression must’ve been evident when Natasha came up to you holding a plate of food, teasing, “We don’t always wear our suits. We’re only human.” She laughed at her joke. “Well, I guess some of us are.” She winked at you as she walked by to sit on the couch. The mom jeans and white tee she wore seemed so foreign on her, they seemed too casual, but she didn’t look uncomfortable at all. In fact, she looked quite cozy. 

“(L/N), come get some food before Sam eats it all,” Stark called to you from the kitchen. When you walked in you laughed at the spread before you. Across the counter laid buckets of fried chicken, there were several containers of mashed potatoes, way more rolls than you had ever seen at once, and a small, sad container of coleslaw. 

“Um….” You snorted when you saw the coleslaw. “Who did this?” 

Wanda looked up from her plate, “Their coleslaw is absolutely disgusting (L/N). I didn’t want to buy any, but  _ someone _ decided they couldn’t live without it.” Her eyes trailed towards Stark. 

“I will not be insulted for wanting some sort of healthy food with all this fast food junk you guys buy.” Stark didn’t even look away from his plate. 

“I offered to make some,  _ Tony,”  _ Steve spoke up, “But you said mine didn’t meet your standards.” Steve made a look towards the offending coleslaw. “At least the lettuce in mine isn’t swimming in water.” 

Stark scoffed. “Right, Cap. Well, your coleslaw is the same as what Pepper’s grandmother makes.” Stark made a vomiting noise, “It’s disgusting. I enjoy the look of swimming lettuce.” 

You shook your head but decided to fix yourself food instead of getting involved. Obviously they were both wrong. Your coleslaw was absolutely the superior one. 

But like the wise temp you were, you didn’t say anything. 

You noticed that all the paper plates were gone. Shrugging, you moved towards the plate cabinet, opening the door before shrieking loudly as a ginormous rat pounced out of the cupboard, barely missing you as you ran backward. Falling on your butt, you only noticed once you had stopped to take a breath that there was a slightly green tinge around the rat. 

“LOKI!” You yelled at the top of your lungs, swiftly getting up and swiping at the fake rodent. You ignored the sounds of the Avengers snickering at your misfortune, and you muttered about Loki and his ridiculous sense of humor as you stood.  _ Idiot God, who does that?! _

Soon your anger melted away as you sat and enjoyed dinner with the Avengers. It didn’t happen regularly that they weren’t busy with their constant schedules, and you were happy they were so relaxed. Dinner, music, pleasant conversation, the evening went by in a whirl with you enjoying every moment. 

After you finally finished with helping the others clean, you walked back to your room. You were happy, full, and ready to sleep for the next twelve years. You walked to your room before pausing in the hall, staring at the direction of Loki’s room. Shaking your head, you opened the door. Your first view of your room was the ginormous hole in the floor behind your door. As clear as day, you could see the room three floors down and you stumbled backward, your adrenaline causing your heart to pound wildly, your chest heaving as you tried to remember how to breathe. 

You closed your eyes for a moment; your head pounding, your heart working blood through your system too fast. You couldn’t breathe enough. You laid down, your arms covering your eyes. You felt the shame course through you as the panic started to wear away. You finally could breathe again. Your chest rose rapidly, while your lungs remembered how to breathe properly.

When you finally were able to think properly, you stood and looked over towards the hole, expecting to see several floors through it. What you saw instead was your carpet, the floor showing no signs there ever was a hole, to begin with. Carefully you put a foot where the spot was, and all you felt was the floor. Your rage grew, your blood boiling.

_ Loki _ . 

You ran to his room, turned the door handle and slammed into the hardwood when the door refused to grant you access. No matter how hard you tried, it would not budge. “Loki, what the hell is  _ wrong _ with you?” You slammed your hand against his door with precision on each word. “That was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced.” 

You heard his muffled words through the door, “You can keep banging on my door, but I’m still not letting you in.” Loki suddenly appeared in front of you, and you almost fell over to avoid being toppled over by him. He stood, leaning against the hard wooden door, a look of contempt covered his features. “What do you want?” The bored tone in his voice made you growl internally. 

“What in the seven hells is wrong with you?!” You righted yourself, standing directly in front of him, you still weren’t even close to his height. You stood up straight, attempting to close the distance, your eyes never leaving his. “Why would you do something like that?” If he was thrown off by the amount of sheer rage in your voice he hid it well, simply shrugging.

The urge to strangle him became almost unbearable, you turned, livid, going back to your room. As you walked away you gestured wildly with your hands to yourself your nails clawing at the air, growling once again. 

You turned around to flash one more dirty look Loki’s way when you saw his mouth twitch up.  _ He was smirking, the piece of shit.  _ Loki’s brow raised, and you turned to head into your room, slamming the door behind you as he slowly entered his room again. 

As you paced your room you struggled to figure out how to make him stop. 

_ You could just - you know - use that little magic ability you got. Just a thought. _

You shook the thought away. Not good enough. Besides, you’d just end up making him angrier at you, and you weren’t sure what to do if he got angrier. 

Then it came to you.  _ If I’m not going to just tell him off…. _ you came up with an idea, and smiled mischievously. 

Two could play at this game.

\----------------

You had encountered only a couple issues with Loki again, all of them seemed like he was challenging you, egging you on. He was mocking you, that much you were sure of. If you hadn’t stopped him already, he was sure you weren’t going to do much about it. And you weren’t in a hurry to change his mind.  _ Patience is a virtue. _

Finally, your moment came. He finally stepped up his pranks again, this time by locking you in your room. By locking, he, of course, decided to get rid of the door, leaving you stranded in your room for about three hours before he got bored and moved on. When he finally thought you worthy of releasing, you had a whole plan figured out, and if things went well, you would be the winner of his stupid game. 

_ Well, at least for a couple of hours. _ But you decided not to think too hard about that. 

It took a few hours, but you finally ran into Loki. Unfortunately, your spell only worked if Loki could actually hear it. It was bittersweet: It meant you could see his face as you controlled him, but it also meant you couldn’t do it from a safe distance.

When he walked past you, you swiftly turned your mind towards his. “Loki, when you play a prank on someone or use your magic to inconvenience anyone, you have to kiss the person you’re standing next to.” 

When Loki turned to you, rage contorting his features, you simply winked and blew a kiss his way. 

It wasn’t long before you heard yelling from one of the Avengers as your spell did its job. True to your word, every time Loki decided to play a prank on someone, he had to kiss the poor soul standing next to him. 

It worked out perfectly that his first unintentional victim had been Steve Rodgers. Although you’d be lying if you said you hadn’t secretly hoped it would be Stark. Thinking about the look on Stark’s face made you giggle as you headed towards the sounds of Steve’s stuttering.

“What is wrong with you?” Steve repeated the question multiple times, his face was one of complete shock. His hand rested over his mouth. His words were fuzzy as they tried to escape through his hand. 

Loki looked just as shocked and looked over towards the sounds of footsteps, his face turning to stone when he saw it was you. “ _ (Y/N) _ .....” 

“Are you blaming me for you suddenly jumping Steve, Loki?” You feigned a shocked look, earning an even deadly glare from Loki. “Why would I put a spell on you to kiss Steve?” You walked over and rubbed Steve’s back, faking your concern when all you wanted to do was laugh out loud. 

Although you did feel a little bit bad. Poor Steve hadn’t seen it coming.

Loki stared daggers at you, and from behind Steve, you smiled widely. You laughed softly when Loki walked away, his steps thumping loud on the tile flooring. 

_ This means war little mortal, _ you could hear his voice sneering in your mind.  _ I hope you’re prepared for the consequences. _

You smirked as you headed towards the kitchen. _I was born ready,_ _Good luck with kissing_ everyone _in the tower._

The slight pain you received as a reply told you everything you needed to know. Especially when Sam cried out this time. 

“LOKI!” 

A couple of days of Loki kissing everyone in the tower (you both had successfully avoided being around one another, Natasha was the only one left. But the look on Stark’s face when he became another kissing victim made everything worth it to you). You had been sitting, facing the window in the hall, sketching out a picture of the beautiful city below. You could hear Thor’s angry footsteps, appearing in the hallway connecting yours and Loki’s room.

“The two of you had better come out before I break both of your doors down.” Thor’s voice was low, but there was a terrifying power in his words. Thor noticed your presence and nodded towards you, the movement stiff. 

You stood, staring at Thor in confusion at the same time Loki walked out of his room. You both had turned towards each other, and immediate icy glares were shared between the two of you. Had Thor not been in such a belligerent mood, he would’ve laughed at your antics. You both stood in front of him. Loki with his arms crossed, looking as bored as ever. You with your hands on your hips, your brow raised at Thor’s anger. 

“What do we owe this  _ lovely _ surprise, brother?” Sarcastic boredom were the words that came immediately to mind at the sound of his voice. 

“I’m here to tell both of you to stop your petty fighting,” Thor stared pointedly at Loki and then at you. “You both are causing unneeded wreckage to the tower and to everyone’s emotional stability.” 

You had a hunch Thor wasn’t here of his own accord. You also had an image of Steve’s face and snorted out loud, earning a look from Thor that clearly said  _ not now _ . 

“I’m here to ask both of you to stop before I’m forced to take drastic measures,” Thor spoke after a moment of silence. He stared at you until you both nodded. “Good.” Then he left as speedily as he came. 

You both stared after him for a while before you spoke, “We’re not listening to him, right?” 

Silence. 

“Absolutely  _ not. _ ” Loki agreed.

You paused for a moment before speaking again. “Wanna join forces and prank Thor?” 

“ _ Yes. _ ”

You nodded, and silence filled the hall again. 

After a moment, both of you finally turned to go to your rooms. When you were at your door, you paused, noticing Loki do so as well. “Would-” You hesitated for a moment. “Would you like to come in? Just to talk about what we’re gonna do?”

“No,” Loki replied speedily. You nodded and started to head into your room. You paused in the doorway when you heard his soft voice say, “But I’ll meet you at midnight in the living room.” His door clicking behind him as you walked in was the last sound you heard from him.

You smiled softly, were you really about to do this?. “Deal.” You walked into your room, and hurriedly checked the clock. 

9:53

You groaned softly. Was it worth going to bed now, only to wake up in a few hours tired and bitter?  _ Not really _ . Sighing, you looked around your room and spotted that pile of laundry you’d been avoiding.  _ Guess we’ll waste time actually cleaning. Shocking. _

When you finished hanging up the way too large pile of laundry, you checked the clock again. 10:30. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” you flopped down on your bed groaning loudly, already bored. What were you supposed to do to get the time to pass by quicker? 

_ How about you pick up a book to read, instead of being loud and obnoxious _ . Loki’s snarky voice snuck into your mind. You frowned. 

_ Rude. I’m not even talking. _

_ Your mind is scattered all over the place, and I can’t read with you sending your thoughts over here. _ You could practically see the annoyance on his face.  _ Read woman, and let me have peace. _

You rolled your eyes, but took his advice and picked up the first book you could find. 

Soon time passed by too rapidly, and you nearly jumped when you heard Loki’s voice once again.  _ Let's go little one. _ You stood, stretched out your muscles as much as possible and headed towards the living room, walking behind Loki, every step in sync. 

“So how are we going to do this?” You asked as soon as Loki sat down on the chair opposite you. 

“I might have a few ideas,” Loki stared you in the face. “But it could get a bit….,” he paused. “A bit  _ smelly.”  _

You paused for only a moment, “Let’s do it.” 

And every moment after that you’d be more careful about what you’d agree to.  _ Especially _ when it was followed by the sneakiest smile you’d ever seen on Loki’s lips. 

\----------------

You woke up to the sound of your alarm clock going off, and you groaned sleepily. The annoying  _ ding ding _ only increased the pounding in your head due to not enough sleep. It was nine in the morning, but you still hadn’t slept too well, since Loki and you had stayed up  _ way _ too late preparing everything for the  _ little _ prank. You could still smell the prank all over you. 

_ I am never,  _ ever _ , doing that ever again.  _

You jumped up and hurriedly took a shower, preparing yourself for the day. Loki had said that the rest was up to Thor, but that you would definitely know when the trap worked. You’d be lying if you said that didn’t worry you at all. You’d told him you didn’t want to do anything  _ too _ drastic, but you were starting to worry you both might have different definitions on the word drastic. 

When you were finally ready, you headed out the door, already smelling way better. As you closed your door behind you Loki opened his and walked out, winking at you as he headed towards the kitchen in a green t-shirt, and black jeans. You smiled and followed him.

There were a few Avengers still eating in the kitchen, but for the most part, it wasn’t too busy. Wanda and Vision were sitting at the table chatting, and Bucky was watching some game show as he ate bacon and eggs. Your stomach grumbled loudly, and you took it as your cue to make something quick and easy. Your two favorite words when it came to food in the morning. 

You grabbed your ingredients and put them together before finally sitting at the table with your prize in front of you.

_ Delicious peanut butter and banana sandwiches. _

You smiled to yourself as you took a bite. You hadn’t eaten this sandwich in years, the last time being when your grandmother made you one before your first day of kindergarten. Feeling someone staring at you, you looked up and noticed Loki eyeing your sandwich with a look of curiosity. 

“Did you want one Loki?” You gestured towards the glorious sandwich in front of you. 

“I’m good, thanks.” He kept staring at your sandwiches. 

You got up, grabbed a plate and gave the other sandwich on your plate to him. “It’s not the best thing I’ve ever made, but I enjoy eating it.” 

He nodded his thanks before grabbing the offered sandwich and taking a bite. When he took a bite he stared at the sandwich in his hand, then at you, then back to the sandwich. You giggled softly at his response before sitting back down and enjoying your own sandwich. Loki came and sat down next to you, the both of you enjoying your sandwiches in silence. 

Suddenly there was a loud roar heard throughout the tower. There was a loud  _ CLAP _ as thunder and lightning shook the building. You and Loki looked towards one another before booking it out of the kitchen as fast as possible. The sounds of Wanda calling after you were drowned out by the angriest sound you had ever heard in your life. 

“LOKI! (Y/N)!” Your names were howled. You both tried to keep from laughing. You could hear Thor catching up to both of you. Loki turned a corner sharply, grabbing your hand as you attempted to keep up. When Thor’s howling became almost deafening, you both ran into the first door you saw, shutting it behind you before darkness enveloped both of you. 

You were breathing loudly, all the running had killed your ability to breathe properly. Loki placed a hand over your mouth lightly, still allowing you to breathe while he held a finger up to his mouth. 

_ Be quiet! _ His voice spoke into your mind, his eyes sending warnings your way. 

Thor had suddenly stopped yelling your names. You hadn’t realized, you were too busy trying to breathe. 

You could hear his footsteps, slowly getting closer when a horrible smell filled the area around you. You nearly gagged.  _ Maybe dropping Thor into the sewer hadn’t been such a good idea.  _ You looked towards Loki and saw him shake his head, a real smile on his face. You paused. You hadn’t actually seen a real smile on him before, and it was even more shocking for you when you were filled with the desire for him to never stop smiling. Something told you he wasn’t meant to be so bitter all the time.

_ This is one of my best ideas yet, _ Loki’s voice filled your head, and you saw him struggle to keep from laughing. You covered his mouth with one of your hands. He looked surprised but didn’t pull away. The look in his eyes made something inside you flutter, and you were suddenly aware of the sounds of both your heartbeats filling the closet you hide in. 

When you both saw Thor’s shadow stop right in front of the door you involuntarily moved closer together. Your head rested on his chest, his head on top of your head. You hold your breath, your hands both resting on your stomach. You felt his hands move and wrap around you. You breathed in and immediately could smell Loki. He smelled fresh. You couldn’t explain his smell. It wasn’t like anything you’d smelled before. 

When Thor finally leaves, taking the stench with him, you finally look up to smile at Loki, stopping when you realize how close your faces actually are. Your noses almost touched, you could feel his warm breath on your lips. You both pause, searching the other’s face. Neither of you moves, you just wait. You don’t know what it is you’re waiting for, but you know it’ll be worth it in the end.

When you finally start to move, the closet door whips wide open, revealing a very angry Thor. He’s soaking wet, and the sewer smell is overpowering. He opens his mouth to yell at both of you before pausing, taking in your questionable position 

You both jump apart as much as the small closet would allow, looking sheepishly at one another. You can feel your face turn slightly pink as Thor mutters, “Pardon me, Brother,” before he speed-walks away from you. You look over at Loki and notice a slight pink tinge to his cheeks, and you feel your cheeks heat up even more. You can’t even look at each other. His arms lay uselessly at his sides and yours are wrapped around your torso. 

“I should go,” you point towards where you think your bedroom is. “I’ve got a lot of work to do for Stark…” 

“Yes, right,” Loki stutters. “I do as well. I mean, not for Stark, I just have a lot of- a lot of work I need to do…” his voice drifts off. 

You can’t run away from each other quickly enough. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After that awkward encounter with Loki in a closet, the next day is filled with awkward tension, conversations, and of course, cooking. 
> 
> Word Count: 3633

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this a story about Loki, or is it secretly a fanfiction about cooking? No one knows.

You stood, your body pressed up against Loki’s as close as you could get. Your eyes were stuck, looking deep into his. His blue eyes were the brightest blue you had ever seen. You couldn’t believe those eyes were looking into yours. Your noses touched, the warmth of his breath fluttered over your parted lips. Something inside you told you to keep reaching forward, to let your lips touch his. So, you lifted yourself up onto your tippy toes, and right before his mouth finally fell onto yours…..

You woke up.

You sat up in bed, feeling your face burn over the dream. It hadn’t happened like that at all, that you were sure about. So how could your brain go and betray you like that?

It’s been a while since, well, you know. You snorted. Sure, it had been a while since you dated anyone. Your last relationship was awful and he treated you like trash, which is why you moved to New York in the first place. A fresh start.

Okay, that’s it then. I’m lonely.

That decided, you got out of bed and started getting ready for the day. You had lots of work you needed to get done for Stark and had little time to finish it.

You walked over to the bathroom and looked at yourself in the mirror. You looked awful. “You need to get your act together dummy,” you chastised your reflection. “You’ve done the bad relationship thing before, and you didn’t like it. Why go out of your way to get into another bad one?”

Your reflection only stared back at you, your eyes seemed to say good luck with that. You chose to ignore that response.

Patting your cheeks, you fixed your hair and began to apply your usual makeup. As you worked you couldn’t help but let your mind wander towards Loki. Did he have difficulties sleeping last night as well? Or was he impassive, and excited to use this latest misadventure against you? You sighed. You’re being ridiculous, (Y/N). Get over it.

As hard as you tried though, you couldn’t seem to, and for the life of you, you couldn’t understand why. You definitely despised his guts, as he did yours. That was for certain. But then why were you having such a hard time with this? It didn’t make any sense. 

What if it’s because of the spell I put on Loki? You walked out of the bathroom and towards your closet, your brain running a mile a minute.

You scanned through your memories for an answer. “Did he actually use magic while we were together?” You mumbled to the white button-up as you placed it on your body. “That’s the only explanation.” You weren’t even sure what kind of powers he actually had, let alone what powers you had. Could having these powers give you strange dreams? Or was it only because you used the powers on Loki? You rubbed a hand against your forehead. You had to believe that was the reason, ignoring the logical part of you that said otherwise.

You hurriedly finished dressing. You had too much work from Stark to worry about this. Thinking about it made your head throb, and you didn’t need to deal with that on top of everything else today. You had too much going on.

A blaring alarm rang throughout the tower. The ringing pierced your ears, and you covered them quickly. Then over the noise, Friday’s mechanical voice called, “Report to the roof, repeat, report to the roof.” You hurried towards the elevator and ran in as soon as the doors opened. You slammed the buttons as you hit the roof icon. The doors came shut with a thud, driving up towards the roof.

A flash of green and gold blinded you for a moment before Loki was magically standing next to you. Tension filled the elevator as you waited to get off. You were aware of every part of him. The way his chest rose and fell with each breath. You wouldn't have noticed in any other circumstance. But of course today you were feeling awkward.

You felt yourself breaking down. You didn't do well with awkwardness. The opening of the elevator doors saved you from yourself. You went left, and he went right. I doubt it’s magic making you act so awkward around him.

You chose to ignore that thought.

When you finally saw the Avengers, they were preparing to board the biggest plane you had ever seen. It was completely black; you couldn’t see into the plane even if you wanted to. There wasn’t a hint of color anywhere.

“What happened?” Cap walked up behind Loki, his huge shield resting on his arm.

“The space defenders need our help,” Stark yelled over the roar of the engines.

“Guardians of the Galaxy,” Clint mumbled next to you. You snorted.

“Alright everyone, you heard the man,” Cap stepped up on the steps to the plane. “As you board make sure to grab the appropriate suits needed and please.” He looked towards Sam, “Make sure your air tank actually has air in it.”

“One time!” Sam shook his head as he boarded the plane.

“(L/N), I need you and Loki to stay behind.” Stark came down, and led you away from the plane, “We don’t know what’s going on, and we don’t have enough suits for the two of you.”

You shook your head, annoyance filled your chest. The one day I want to avoid the Asgardian. “Sure, boss.”

Stark put a hand on your shoulder. “Listen, I know it sucks. But it means a lot that you’re willing to do this.” He smiled and moved his hand away. “We’ll be back tonight, it shouldn’t be that long.”

You conjured the sweetest smile you could and nodded. “Of course, Mr. Stark.”

He laughed, “Listen, you live with us now. I imagine myself as an old man when I hear it. Call me Tony.”

“Alright, Tony.” You put out a hand, “My name is (Y/N).”

You shook hands, both of you laughing at the antics of the other. Finally, you heard Cap calling for Tony, and he ran, his suit forming onto him as he did.

You sighed as you watched the plane zoom away. Today wasn't going to be as good a day as you had hoped. As you turned away, you jumped, your heart thumping against your chest. Loki had been standing behind you like a ghost, you weren’t sure for how long.

“Oh my God,” You put a hand over your eyes. “You almost scared me to death. Stop being so quiet all the time.”

Loki moved to fold his arms, his cotton clothing scraped loudly as he did. “You have got to be kidding me!” His eyes widened in surprise at the volume in which his voice came out.

“Shoot!” You smacked yourself in the forehead, “I’m so sorry, that’s my bad.” You took a second to figure out how to rephrase the spell and fix your new mess. “Loki, you can be quiet, but no more sneaking up on me."

He shook his arms, his clothes were once again silent. “I’ll try my best not to be so sneaky.” His smile was small, but his eyes seemed to sparkle.

You both stood there, the awkwardness beginning to set in again.

“So, I’m going to go…”

“I have a book I need to read…”

You both headed towards the elevator, avoiding eye contact with each other.

He turned towards the buttons, “Floor?”

“Oh, 5th. I’m heading towards the offices.”

“Right.” He pressed the 5th floor, then the 7th.

Standing there, you couldn’t help but hold your breath. The tension was so tight you could feel it on your chest. The silence was deafening. Your nerves steadily climbed higher. You were going to rub your arms raw at this point. It seemed to take hours for the elevator to get to its destination. When the doors finally did open, they opened onto Loki’s floor.

He stepped off and into the hallway, “I’ll see you around then, (Y/N).”

“Yeah,” you replied, watching the doors close behind him. You exhaled, the tension finally leaving. You had hoped you wouldn’t see him for a while. Your confusion only escalated when he was around.

A nice long holiday, away from anything super sounds fantastic right now.

\------

Even if Tony was currently not on planet earth, that didn’t mean your work was over. In fact, it meant your workload was even bigger. You had so many emails from potential clients, along with anyone who had an email. The emails were all marked as urgent, leaving you the task of finding out what was actually urgent.

It took you a while to finish writing out your last email. Your eyes glazed over as you stared at the words in front of you. The words came out looking like gibberish to you. You reread the email over and over, your brain still not processing what you needed to process. Finally, you gave up.

Standing, you turned around to look out the window behind you. New York City never stood still, but the hustle and bustle of the city only served to mock you. A measly three hours have passed since you began working. Usually, your work took way longer than this. It seemed everyone was aware of the awkwardness you were avoiding like no other.

You rolled your shoulders and neck. The ache that had settled in them from sitting for too long was starting to be too much. The stretching and popping that followed had you sighing in relief. Your brain started to function as you needed it to, and you got back to work.

When you finished your work, and you were happy with it, you sent it. You looked around your desk to see if there was anything else you could do. You had done all the computer work you needed to do, but you could've sworn you had more paperwork to do. Searching through your office, you found a blue sticky note with Tony's handwriting. It read:

(L/N),

I took the liberty of finishing your paperwork for you. All my lab work got completed, so I stole some of yours. I noticed the pile of papers and finished them for you. Don't stress, I was very bored.

-Tony Stark

P.S Pepper also told me I wasn’t allowed to build any more random machines, so paperwork it was.

A smile lit your face as you read the sticky note. The man was a brilliant millionaire scientist who never let anyone boss him around. So the fact that he was following Pepper’s directions was both adorable and hilarious. The man could be scary when he wanted to be. He chose to be arrogant 99% of the time. Thinking about it, you doubted he actually chose it. It was a natural part of him.

He was definitely one of the best bosses you’ve ever had.

With that, you were all out of work. Which meant you were pretty much done for the day. The thought of having to go down and actually talk to Loki was daunting. You weren’t exactly sure what his reaction to what happened was going to be. You knew you didn't need him teasing you for the rest of your life.

Annoyance filled your being. You weren’t going to sit around and let him boss you around. Whether he actually was or not was beside the point. You were a grown-up. You were more than capable of talking to someone you wanted to avoid. That was a part of adulting, was it not?

Stretching one more time, you headed out of your office and towards the kitchen. Part of you still held hope you wouldn't run into him. Unfortunately for you, you'd forgotten the rotten luck you have.

He didn’t acknowledge your presence. You had walked into the kitchen to find him sitting at the table, reading. He hadn't even looked up. Part of you seemed to sigh. You weren’t sure if it was from relief or disappointment. Walking towards the fridge, you looked for something quick you could eat. The embarrassing sound of your stomach grumbling reminded you that you hadn't eaten. So you searched the fridge until you found a yogurt you could eat.

You weren't in the mood to cook this morning.

You turned around to find Loki turning back to his book. Had he been watching you? And for how long? You shook your head. You definitely imagined it, hadn't you? Why would Loki want to watch you of all people?

With that happy thought, you turned to walk out of the kitchen when you heard a voice say, "You're not cooking today?"

All ability to be professional went out of the window when you saw him. For a moment you thought he looked embarrassed, but then you blinked and it was gone. 

Maybe I didn’t imagine it.

“No, I was…” you trailed off. You hadn’t thought about the last time you cooked, but you knew it still bugged you. I don’t need my cooking skills mocked. You couldn’t look at him. You were equal parts hurt and embarrassed. You hadn’t tried to cook since it happened. You figured you weren’t in the mood, but apparently you were just hurt. 

Great timing.

You cleared your throat. “I’m just not in the mood, that’s all.” You turned to smile at him. It felt fake. 

“Your cooking isn’t that bad.”

You paused mid-turn in shock. “What?” 

He sighed in annoyance. “I said your cooking isn’t that bad. I’ve had worse.” 

“I-” You shook your head slightly. It wasn’t exactly an apology, but you appreciated it nonetheless. “Thank you, Loki.” 

And just like that, he was reading his book again. A question came to your mind, and before you could think it over you asked, “Are you hungry?” 

“I’m fine.” 

Smiling inwardly, you walked back into the kitchen. “Well, I’m absolutely starving. That yogurt didn’t do much for me.” You opened the fridge to see what you had. “What sounds like a decent breakfast?” You mumbled this part, loudly enough though that Loki could hear it. 

“Something sweet would be delightful, but I doubt it could compare to the food of Asgard.” Loki turned a page in his book. He sat there reading, acting like he hadn’t just issued you a challenge. 

Challenge Accepted. 

“Random question, does Asgard have Coffee Cake?” He raised a brow. “I don’t mean cake to eat with coffee.” 

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Our food tends to be far more sophisticated than that of your human food.

You nodded. “That didn’t answer my question at all, thank you so much.” 

You saw Loki’s smirk out of the corner of your eye. “I live to please.” 

Decision made, you started on the coffee cake. Once you got into it, it really wasn’t hard to lose yourself in your cooking. It was a great pastime, something you had learned from your mother. Sometimes you would get so into the cooking, you’d forget what you were doing and not realize you’d spent three hours in the kitchen when it had only felt like one. It was one of your favorite ways to relax and just live without thinking about all the things you still needed to accomplish. 

You heard the oven timer ding and quickly pulled the cake out of the oven. You breathed in slowly, savoring the smell of cinnamon that filled the air. You set the cake on the oven to cool and began working on a drink to go with it. The thought of just making coffee to go with it was tempting, but you wanted to spice things up. 

Meaning you made tea. Apple Cinnamon tea, to be precise. 

You set the freshly brewed tea on the table next to Loki, then went to check on the cake. It hadn’t quite cooled completely, and you knew to cut into it too soon would destroy your hard work, but you were excited to taste it and patience had never been one of your virtues. 

Delicately, you flipped the pan over to take out the cake. There were some bits that had stuck to the pan, but it didn’t completely fall apart. “Thank you, god of Cakes.” 

“God of Cakes?” You heard Loki mutter to himself in disbelief. 

You snorted. “I said what I said.” 

You could practically feel him rolling his eyes. “You did yes, but I’m wondering why you said it.” His chair made a noise and then he was standing right next to you. “As I recall, there is no god of Cakes. At least, not that specifically.” 

“I’m not 100% on that either, if I’m honest.” You had begun slicing up the cake, making sure to work slowly and carefully. “That’s just something I like to say.” You looked up to smile at Loki, and suddenly your face felt very warm. You looked down at the cake and continued cutting, “I think this cake might be my best work yet.” 

“We’ll see,” you heard the challenge in his voice. “I have yet to actually taste this cake.” 

You plated a couple of slices, then walked over and set them down on the table. “Well then get your ass over here and try it.” You set a plate down in front of you, and in front of the chair Loki had been frequenting not long before. 

You poured the both of you tea, then sat down. “Enjoy!” 

Loki looked down at the two slices of cake in front of him, his face was severe. He seemed to be studying it, although you didn’t know what for. Poison, perhaps? 

Soon enough he picked up his fork, cut off a bit of the cake, and took a bite. His face revealed nothing of how he felt. He only chewed. And chewed. And chewed. 

Concerned maybe the cake hadn’t set well, you took a bite. It tasted great to you, the same as it always had. What was Loki doing that he needed to chew for so long? “Is everything alright?” You asked, slightly panicked. 

Finally, he swallowed. “It’s alright.” 

“Alright?” 

“It’s not the best thing I’ve tasted, certainly, but it’s not awful.” He took another bite. “It’s edible, by any means.” 

You shook your head. “Well, good thing you are not the god of cakes then.” 

“What do you mean?” The fork in his hand had paused halfway to his mouth. 

You took a bite and swallowed before answering, “Because you have horrible taste and this cake is delicious. The god of cakes would know that to be a fact.” 

“Or perhaps this god is far superior to you in terms of taste, and he would agree with me that this cake isn’t the best it could be.” Loki sent a pointed look your way. 

You feigned being lost in thought. “Hmm,” Another bite of the cake. “No, I’m fairly certain he’d agree with me.” 

Loki simply smirked and shook his face. “Then I suppose we’ll have to agree to disagree.” 

“I suppose that’ll work, but I’d hate for you to go through life thinking your wrong opinion is right.” You grabbed your empty plate and his and carried them to the sink. “What a horrible life that would be!” 

“Oh, I’m sure you’d hate for me to be wrong.” He carried the empty teacups over to you. “After all, you are a saint.” 

You smiled, “I’m glad you’re aware of my saintliness. It’s about time someone recognized it.” You took the teacups out of his hands and began washing them along with the plates. “Besides, you ate everything I gave you, so you can’t have hated it that much.” 

You heard a low hmm come from him, “As a Prince, I was raised to be polite. If we were at a dinner where even the most disgusting thing was served, I was to eat everything on my plate without complaint.” 

Nodding, you set the cleaned dishes on the counter to dry. “Well, you must’ve failed part of your training then,” Loki raised a brow in confusion. “You might not have said the food was disgusting, but you did say it wasn’t the best you’d eaten. Seems like a complaint to me.” You walked over and stabbed your index finger into Loki’s chest as you spoke. 

He grabbed your hand, “I’m afraid that’s because I was raised to be polite with royalty. I don’t recall being told how to work with an obnoxious human girl.” 

You smirked, “Oh so you find me obnoxious?” 

“The most obnoxious human I’ve ever met.” His hand tightened slightly around your own. 

You smiled flirtatiously, “Loki, I never realized you held me in such high regard. I’m flattered.”

He spoke in a voice so soft and low it seemed like growling, “I hold you in the highest regard, (Y/N).” He let go of your hand and spoke normally. “After all, you make it so deliciously easy to get on your nerves.” 

You cocked your head in confusion, “What?” Then suddenly you felt cold water spray you in the back and you screeched. You turned towards the water, to find that the faucet had completely burst. “Loki!” 

“Whoops,” Loki snapped his fingers and the faucet fixed itself as if nothing had happened. You, however, were still completely soaked. 

“What the hell Loki?” You noticed your shirt sticking to your skin, and attempted to unstick it. That only made it worse. Soaked, annoyed, and embarrassed, you shoved past Loki and walked toward the elevator. You could hear him laughing behind you, and you flipped him off. 

“God of mischief? More like God of jerks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that it took this long to get this chapter out. Between 2020 kicking my ass, and just not having any clue where the hell I'm taking the story, I was not having a good time. Speaking of, I'm currently moving so I'll still be awful about posting, but I'll do my best to get back to a decent schedule after that (promises, promises).


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have to run some errands, but the Avengers are still gone, meaning Loki gets to come with. Grocery shopping has never been this fun. Does a new lover appear? Is this story even about Loki? Like I fucking know.

When you woke up, the sky was dark and cloudy, and the smell of rain filled the air. The world outside mirrored how you felt - gloomy. The sound of Tony's voice on the answering machine only added to the dread you had begun to experience.

"-Unfortunately, things have only taken a turn for the worst." The sounds of yelling and explosives did nothing to help, you were sure. "For now, we won't be coming home anytime soon."

You heard a noise through the static, and then the message clicked off. You laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. After a week of no Avenger’s, your workload had lightened significantly. After a few days of Tony’s absence, reporters had started asking questions. Pepper saw fit to take over any emails and phone calls he received after that. Damage control, she had said. However, you weren't sure what she'd been implying when she said it.

In the few days that had passed, you'd dealt with the many different sides of Loki. Most of them ugly. He yelled at you for neglecting to apologize when you walked back into him accidentally. When you tried to tell him dinner was ready, he threatened your life if you didn’t leave him alone.

All in all, you had not had a fun time at all the past few days.

You groaned, the sound filling the emptiness of your room. You needed an escape, but you were also in charge of Loki. You weren't allowed a break. Not if you wanted to keep your actual job, working under Stark. As rough as it was, at least you weren’t completely powerless. You’d have to remember to have Thor thank his father again for you. 

You also had to do some shopping today, but you would have to take Loki with you. You weren't exactly ecstatic to find out how that trip was going to go. But of course, the job fell to you. And you had to pretend at least to find joy at the prospect.

If only to keep your sanity intact.

So with that happy thought in mind, you zoomed through your morning routine, which consisted of getting ready for the day, cleaning up the pile of clothes that grew whenever you got dressed, and pretending that you were a morning person. When you had finished and looked up to par, you left your room to make the long three steps to Loki's door.

You knocked, "Loki, it's time to get up. We have some errands to run, and I want to get them done as soon as possible." You waited, but there was no response from the other side. "Loki?" When he didn't answer again, you opened the door.

You found Loki lying on his side, reading a new novel. He didn't notice your presence, but whether because he was ignoring or not, you weren't sure. Today he was sporting a button-down white shirt and black pants, the most casual outfit you'd ever seen him in.

"Loki? Did you hear me?"

His only response was the turning of a page from his book. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he spoke. "And what kind of errands must I be subjected to today?” 

"The kind that involves you staying by my side the entire time while being under a disguise."

He smirked, "You mean the mortals won't take kindly to seeing me waltz about in a mall?" His wicked grin worried you.

"You're not allowed to pretend to be a celebrity or anyone famous for anything. You can only be a normal person." If he was even aware of how to be an average person, that is. 

He tsked in annoyance before getting up and waving his now glowing hands, "Must you be so boring?" Then he snapped his fingers, and turned into a different person.

Before you stood a red-headed man in a white button-up shirt and dark blue slacks, his hair was up in a man bun, and perfectly round glasses rested on a crooked nose. The only thing that hadn't changed was his eyes. They were still the dazzling blue they had always been.

You caught yourself staring and blinked in embarrassment. You hadn't missed the smirk that crossed Loki's face. "Well then, we need to go over a couple of ground rules."

"Ever the dictator," Loki mumbled.

You chose to ignore that one. "First off, you are not allowed to leave my side unless I let you. Even then, you are to come back to me immediately. Understood?" He nodded, and you continued. "Two, you are not to use your powers, except to keep your disguise up. No causing issues with the mortals."

He rolled his eyes. "You do know you've cut me off of any fun I might've had?"

The smile that graced your lips was anything but sweet. "Oh no, I didn't mean to take away your fun." You continued, "I'm so sorry, Loki."

"Anything else?" He didn’t find you as funny as you thought you were.

You thought it over, making sure there weren't any loopholes Loki could use. "No, that's pretty much it." You walked out the door, "As soon as breakfast is over, we’re leaving.” 

The door slamming shut behind you told you everything you needed to know about how this day was going to go. 

\-----

After your uneventful breakfast, you headed out with Loki in tow. His disguise was up, and he was on his best behavior. Whatever that was.

There were a couple of places you needed to go to, the most prominent being the grocery store. After that, you had to go shopping for a new lock on your door. You weren’t dumb enough to believe anything mortal could keep Loki out of your room, but maybe if you found a more complicated one, it would take him a bit longer to break-in. Hopefully, the Avengers would return soon, though, so you could make that particular stop alone.

You knew there was one more place you needed to go to, but after trying for five minutes to remember and failing to do so, you gave up. It probably wasn’t that important to you anyway, which meant that your only stop for the day was the grocery store. How much trouble could a God cause--you didn’t want to think about it. 

You led an unwilling Loki into the grocery store with you. While Tony did have a grocery delivery service, you'd much rather go by yourself. It was a good excuse for you to get out of the house and away from certain people. It was unfortunate that the specific person had to accompany you today, though.

But in the spirit of enjoying the day, you attempted to fix your attitude and enjoy yourself.

You also enjoyed picking the fruit yourself. You were very specific about the state of the produce. The usual grocery deliverer was not. Since Tony was no chef, he didn't care either. You did, and so often opted to go yourself.

If Loki was bored, he made no effort to communicate that. He only followed behind you like a sulking puppy. Whenever you picked up fruit, you could feel his eyes on you. Then, when you commented on the freshness, he finally spoke up.

"Why does it matter? All midgardian fruit is the same."

"No, there's a difference." You mumbled, busy inspecting a watermelon, trying to decide if it was a juicy one or not.

"And how, pray tell, do you know?" His tone was patronizing, but you'd come to expect that from him.

"Well, Mr. Doubtful, the watermelon should sound hollow," You knocked on the watermelon. It sounded full. "This one isn't right." You put it down and picked up another one, this one heavy. "It should also be heavy, like this one." You knocked on it and smiled. "This one is perfect!"

"That seems far too simple. What if you got it wrong?" Loki questioned you as you began walking away, pulling the cart with you.

"Well, it's not a perfect science, and I don't get it right every time." You grabbed a bag of potatoes, "but for the most part, it's worked out for me."

He said nothing else. You could see the gears churning. What was he thinking?

After you had made your way through the produce, you checked the list you had made. You had managed to grab everything you needed, and in record time too. Then that thing you’d been trying to remember all morning came back to you. 

"Crap." You muttered, mentally smacking yourself. How could you have forgotten?

"What's the matter?" Loki stared in confusion at the pineapple stand in front of him. “What did you forget now?” 

“I was supposed to pick up a package this morning.” You started speed walking towards the checkout. You checked your watch and groaned as the face read 11:52 am. 

He easily kept up with your hurried speed. “And this is a reason for concern because?” 

“Because,” you started scanning the produce, “because the place is 5 minutes away, and it closes right at noon.” 

“Then just grab it tomorrow.” 

“That’s the problem! I can’t. I have meetings all morning tomorrow, and this place gets mad if you don’t pick up your orders right away.” You were struggling to get the scanner to scan some onions. “And I have to get it today, or they’ll send it back, and it was hard enough finding it the first time!” 

“...Let me get it then.” 

You paused, registering what he just said, you turned to face him. “Really?” Your brow raised. “Why would you do that?” 

“Because as much fun as it is to watch you struggle to buy that onion,” you made a face, “I’m bored, and grabbing a package sounds like the only fun I’m going to have today.” 

You weighed your options carefully. You weren’t entirely sure it was a good idea, but then again, you had set rules just for this very moment. Besides that, you still needed to finish scanning the items, and you were running out of time. 

“Ok, fine. You can go grab the package, but remember the rules, and for the love of Gods, please don’t cause trouble.” You then relayed all the information he’d need, and just like that, he vanished. Hopefully, no one else noticed that little escapade. 

Finally, you were able to pay for your food, and you hurried out of the store as quickly as possible, holding five bags of produce. You checked your watch, 12:03 pm. You prayed Loki could find the place and the package, but it indeed served you right if he didn’t. How you had managed to forget something so important was beyond you. You started walking towards the store, trying carefully not to drop any of the bags. 

You turned the corner and managed to walk into someone, dropping your bags as you did. “I’m so sorry!” You said as you bent to pick up the bags and any stray fruits. 

“No, I’m sorry, let me help you.” A male voice responded, and you were shocked to find a very handsome man bending down to help you. “After all, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” He pushed a long piece of hair out of his face, grabbing the bag of apples that were trying to escape. 

Your throat had gone dry; you weren’t sure you remembered how to speak anymore. “N-no, it’s fine. My fault, actually…” 

The rich baritone of his laugh caught you off guard. “Well, then I suppose it’s both our faults.”

He winked at you, and you laughed softly. “Okay then, deal.” 

Once you both had cleaned the mess and put all the food safely back into the bags, the man helped you up and offered to hold a couple of bags for you. “You don’t have to do that; besides, you were going the other way.” 

“I was just on my lunch break, but I don’t mind spending it helping a pretty woman out.” You shook your head, smiling. “So, lead the way, Madame.” 

“Call me Y/N,” You held out a hand. 

“Y/N/. What a beautiful name.” He grabbed your hand, and instead of shaking it as you had intended, he bent down and kissed your knuckles. “My name is Jonathan.” 

“Jonathan,” you spoke softly, admiring his brown eyes. Then you shook yourself slightly. “Well, uh, Jonathan, I’m headed this way then.” 

And lead the way you did. At first, the walk was awkward. After all, he was a stranger. But after a couple of minutes, you both had warmed up and began discussing all kinds of things. When you arrived at the store, you looked around, still unable to find the elusive Loki. 

“Are you looking for someone?” 

“Yeah, my-” You paused. You weren’t sure what to call Loki. He certainly wasn’t your friend, but you wouldn’t very well call him your prisoner. That certainly wouldn’t end well for you. So, friend it was. “-friend. We were supposed to meet here, but I’m not sure where he got off too.” 

“Oh!” Jonathan looked visibly relieved. “I was worried you had a boyfriend.” 

You weren’t sure how to take it. “Why? Would you not have helped me if I did?” 

“No! Oh, my gods, that’s not at all what I meant.” His face turned a light shade of pink. “I still ran into you, of course, I’d still help you. I just meant that I want to ask you out, but that would be out of the question if you were dating someone.” 

Unsure how to respond, you just said, “Oh.” 

“Unless, of course, you’re a lesbian! Which, if that’s the case, forget I said anything.” Jonathan looked positively awkward, and you couldn’t help but laugh. 

“No, I’m not a lesbian, and neither am I dating anyone.” You smiled, laughing as you did.

He chuckled awkwardly. “Then, would you forget about what just happened and go on a date with me sometime?” 

A thought flashed through your head about your moment with Loki in the closet. Was that something, or was it just a fluke brought on by lack of sleep? But even if it was something, Loki had treated you no kinder than he had from the beginning. You’d done the mean boyfriend; you didn’t need to do it again. Not that going on a date with this guy meant that you were automatically dating. Besides all that, Jonathan was attractive, and he seemed to be attracted to you as well. 

Decision made, you smiled up at Jonathan and nodded. “I’d love to.” 

You exchanged phone numbers, and soon Jonathan had to leave to go back to work, promising to call you tonight. You were so excited. You hadn’t been on a date in forever, and now, here you were. You were going on a date with a very handsome man in the beautiful city of New York. You couldn’t believe it. 

“Who was he?”

You nearly jumped out of your skin when Loki showed up next to you, holding a beige package. “He’s no one important.” You cleared your throat, hoping he hadn’t noticed your flirting. “You got the package! Perfect It’s time to go home then, Loki.” You place your hand on Loki’s arm, expecting him to teleport you both home immediately. When he didn’t, you looked up at him and raised a brow in question. “Is something wrong?” 

Loki didn’t respond but whisked you both home and immediately moved away from you. He set your package down on the table in front of him, then walked towards his room. That left you alone to put out the groceries. Unsure what his deal was, you set the groceries down and got to work.

As soon as you washed and put away the groceries, you grabbed the box and ran to your room as quickly as possible. During the moments with Jonathan, you had completely forgotten about your package. Finding a pair of scissors, you carefully opened it, excitement filling your veins. Once you opened it, you carefully pulled out the fragile object, setting it down on your dresser. You’d been waiting for this moment forever. 

You nearly cried once you unwrapped it. It was a gorgeous vase. Zinnias, leaves, and vines decorated the outside. A Beautifully painted hummingbird sipped nectar from a fully bloomed zinnia. It’s pink flowers bringing out the brilliant colors of the hummingbird itself. The vase was one you’d wanted for a long time, nearly giving up the chase until you were finally able to retrieve it. You were still amazed you’d been able to get it, but looking at it now, you were glad you did. 

“This isn’t a very safe place for you, but you’ll have to live here until I find a better spot.” Your fingers traced the outline of the flower. You’d reorganize your room eventually, and then you’d have the perfect spot for it. Until then, this would have to do. 

You checked your phone and noticed a missed message. You opened it and grinned when you heard the contents. 

“Hey Y/N, it’s Jonathan. I know I said I’d call you tonight, but I got a bit excited and couldn’t help but call you as soon as I had a break.” 

You heard some chattering in the background and a sigh from Jonathan. 

“Anyway, I have to go. My boss is a nutcase. I’ll call you tonight. Hopefully, this didn’t make you run for the hills. I promise I’m not usually this guy who calls soon after you give him your number. So yeah. I’m going to go before this message gets too long. Bye!” 

You smiled at your phone as the message clicked off. You set a quick text letting Jonathan know that you got the message and looked forward to talking to him later. You were trying so hard not to get yourself too excited about it, but you could already feel the butterflies forming in your stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update! I moved (again) and am now getting ready to start college, so I've been dealing with all the fun that comes with that. I'll be moving again to school at the beginning of January, and then college begins! So if you thought my updating process took forever before, imagine what it's going to be like then! Although being the anti-social pessimist that I am, I'll probably write more at school than I did before. So I guess we'll just have to see lol. 
> 
> This chapter boasts a whopping 3011 words. ;)


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